Livestock
The government branch overseeing Crown land in Newfoundland and Labrador will join the provincial ministry handling the agrifoods file, as the province moves to cut public sector costs. Premier Dwight Ball on Wednesday announced what he billed as the “Flatter, Leaner Management Structure” for the provincial government, a reorganization which will see 287 management positions […] Read more
Newfoundland shifts Lands Branch to new department
U.S. livestock: Hogs tumble on pork price declines
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures fell 3.8 per cent for their biggest daily loss in about a month on Wednesday, pulled down by investment fund selling tied to lower cash hog and wholesale pork prices, traders said. Live cattle futures rose, extending gains to the fourth straight session on support […] Read more
Cash-rich Maple Leaf sees abundant U.S. opportunities
Reuters — Canadian meat packing company Maple Leaf Foods is hunting for acquisitions in the U.S., after years spent upgrading old factories and shedding business lines, its CEO said on Wednesday. Maple Leaf, which reported on Wednesday its profits doubled in the fourth quarter, sees growth opportunities from meat produced humanely and without antibiotics, and […] Read more
China reports more severe form of bird flu, threat to poultry
Geneva/Beijing | Reuters — China is working to assess the prevalence of a new strain of H7N9 bird flu, state radio reported Wednesday, after global health authorities said the strain had evolved into a more severe form in birds. So far the variant strain has only been detected in Guangdong province, but given the wide […] Read more
Wild boars roam Czech forests, some of them radioactive
Prague | Reuters –– The Czech Republic has an unusual problem this winter with its wild boar meat, a local delicacy. The boars are radioactive. Actually, it’s not the boars themselves, but what they’re eating. A cold and snowy winter is forcing them to feed on false truffles, an underground mushroom common in the Sumava […] Read more
Maple Leaf Foods allows McCain to boost stake
Reuters — Canadian meat processor Maple Leaf Foods reported a smaller-than-expected profit on Wednesday and also said it would allow its biggest shareholder to take a bigger stake in the company. The company said CEO Michael McCain and an affiliated company, McCain Capital Inc., could now bump up their stake to as much as 45 […] Read more
Health Canada clears ground beef irradiation
Fresh and frozen ground beef treated with irradiation can now be sold in Canada, the federal health department announced Wednesday. Health Canada has published regulations in the Canada Gazette which add fresh and frozen ground beef to the short list of irradiated foods, such as potatoes, onions, spices and flour, that are permitted for sale, […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Cattle hit four-week high on beef gains
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle futures jumped one per cent to the highest prices in about four weeks on Tuesday, boosted by technical buying and gains in wholesale beef prices, traders said. Feeder cattle futures followed live cattle higher at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, while lean hogs were narrowly lower in light technical […] Read more
Tyson accelerates shift away from antibiotics in chicken
Chicago | Reuters — Tyson Foods in June will switch its retail line of company-branded chicken products to birds raised without any antibiotics, a top executive said on Tuesday, accelerating the meat sector’s shift away from the drugs. The change will make Tyson, which is the largest U.S. chicken processor, into the world’s leading producer […] Read more
French MNAs take EU-Canada trade deal to court
Paris | Reuters — More than 100 French left-wing lawmakers decided Tuesday to appeal to the country’s Constitutional Council to block a contentious free trade deal between the European Union and Canada. Supporters of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) say it will boost economic growth and jobs on both sides of the Atlantic. […] Read more